Mustang 2005 by Matt DeLorenzo

Little pony had a lucky escape

I learned something shocking in this otherwise uplifting account of the rebirth of an American icon. The Ford Probe of a few years ago (a miserable Alan Partridge kind of car based on a Mazda with front-wheel drive, silly phallic styling and a silly phallic name) was almost foisted on us as a Ford Mustang.

I doubt whether even such a powerful name could have lived that one down, proof that great cars make great legends, not the other way round.

Sometime lately, however, the Ford Motor Company woke up and realised what a superb heritage and devoted following they had in the Mustang and set about making something that would be more than an insult or a mere pastiche. So we now have the 2005 Ford Mustang, built in the same works as a Mazda 6, but with a V8 option, rear drive and true to its roots.

Welcome home, little pony.